Countryside – West of Rayleigh

Community Consultation

Countryside Properties, one of the UK’s leading developers of sustainable communities, is bringing forward proposals for around 475 new homes, open spaces and associated infrastructure on land to the west of Rayleigh in Essex. The land has been allocated for the development in Rochford District Council’s Core Strategy and is a key site for addressing the housing need in the district.

Spring worked with Countryside to plan and deliver public and stakeholder consultation for the site engaging with local residents, key interest groups and councillors at all levels.

The engagement programme, which started in November 2013 on the outline masterplan for the site, included two public exhibitions, member briefings, a consultation website and newsletters. Over 5,800 people engaged with 72 submissions received.

Email and Freepost addresses were also set up to make the process as accessible as possible. All elements were delivered by Spring – from strategy, copywriting, design and production of materials, to community and political liaison.

Following the close of the consultation period, an update was provided to community members and councillors on the feedback received and how the final West of Rayleigh plans took it into consideration. In the run up to the planning committee, members were provided with updates and local comments were monitored.

Planning permission was received in September 2015, and engagement is ongoing for the detailed applications for the site, which has been allocated into the Local Plan.